THE HENRY COW LEGEND [AKA: LEGEND OR LEG END]

Avant-garde can be a very noisy, sometimes aimless genre, but these guys do it right. Throughout this album, they switch from slick Canterbury-style jazz (like on "Nirvana for Mice") and very unique and extremely listenable avant (such as on the introduction to "Teenbeat"). The entire album is a well crafted piece, but the conclusion, "The Nine Funerals for the Citizen King" wraps it up nicely with the unique vocals, harmonized beautifully by the guitar (which sounds almost like a synthesizer) and well complemented by the violin! Another favorite of mine is "Amygdala" as it almost sounds like something from Hatfield and the North and includes a flute solo which is very unique for even the Cow. Frank Zappa once said, "Talking about music is like dancing about architecture" and this record aptly fits that quote as it defies words! If you like creative and innovative music, just go buy it. You won't be disappointed.

One last word about the sound quality: whereas many avant artists such as Captain Beefheart (RIP) had rather murky sounding records, something that I appreciate about Henry Cow is their production is extremely clean and crisp, allowing the listener to hear every nuance of the recording, which is essential for this kind of music as it requires close attention to detail to understand. Truly a class act.